Toxicity from illegitimate slimming agents – a 10-year case series at a tertiary toxicology laboratory in Hong Kong

Abstract

Context

This retrospective case-series study aims to provide an overview of the clinical, biochemical and analytical findings in patients who presented with toxicity related to the use of illegitimate slimming agents in Hong Kong from the perspective of a tertiary referral toxicology laboratory.

Methods

All clinical cases referred to the Hospital Authority Toxicology Reference Laboratory, Hong Kong with clinical suspicion of illegitimate slimming agent-related toxicity between January 2008 and December 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. The use of illegitimate slimming agents included the use of (1) deregistered slimming agents, (2) drug analogues that were not registered drugs, (3) registered drugs not approved for the indication of weight reduction (whether prescribed by a doctor or not), and (4) prescription-only slimming agents without a doctor’s prescription. Patients taking registered weight-reducing drugs prescribed by a doctor were excluded. Patient demographics, clinical features, relevant laboratory investigations, and toxicological findings were analyzed.

Results

From 2008 to 2017, a total of 346 patients were analytically confirmed by our laboratory to have clinical toxicity related to the use of illegitimate slimming agents. The median age of the patients was 27 years and 92.5% of the patients were female. The most common clinical presentations included psychiatric features, sympathomimetic toxicity, hypokalemia, and abnormal thyroid function tests. Fatal or severe clinical toxicity was observed in 10% of the cases. The major classes of drugs detected on our analytical platforms were stimulants (e.g., sibutramine), laxatives (e.g., anthraquinones), diuretics (e.g., hydrochlorothiazide), and thyroid hormones (e.g., animal thyroid tissue). These illegitimate slimming agents were obtained from various sources including the Internet, over-the-counter in community pharmacy, or unspecified local sources.

Discussion and conclusions

The use of slimming agents is common worldwide; apart from taking registered slimming agents prescribed by registered practitioners, many users obtain slimming agents from various illegitimate sources. The unregulated use of these drugs can be associated with significant clinical toxicity. This study provides a current landscape of illegitimate slimming agent toxicity in Hong Kong to frontline clinicians and other toxicology professionals. Collaboration between clinicians, laboratories, and government authorities would be imperative to prevent further health adversities related to the misuse of these agents.

Keywords:

• Slimming agents
• adulteration
• mortality
• organ/tissue specific
• epidemiology

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.